| **Net Earnings Per Share (Tables)**                                 | 6 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
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| **Earnings Per Share [Abstract]**                                   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| Schedule Of Computation Of Basic And Diluted Net Earnings Per Share | The table below sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc. (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 28, 2014 June 29, 2013 June 28, 2014 June 29, 2013Numerator:       Net earnings attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$270 $115 $519 $338Denominator:       Basic weighted average shares outstanding284.2 283.9 284.3 284.6Dilution associated with stock-based compensation plans4.7 2.8 4.8 2.5Diluted weighted average shares outstanding288.9 286.7 289.1 287.1Basic net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$0.95 $0.41 $1.83 $1.19Diluted net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$0.93 $0.40 $1.80 $1.18 |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of an entity's basic and diluted earnings per share calculations, including a reconciliation of numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted per-share computations for income from continuing operations.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 260 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6371337&loc=d3e3550-109257
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